Preview: In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, choose wisely

The original Deus Ex is generally considered a gaming classic. The second game planted doubt in the minds of many about whether it could work as a series. We got some time with the upcoming prequel, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and it’s still a bit up-in-the-air.

Here’s the story: It’s 2027, and you’re Adam Jensen, a guy forced to receive cybernetic implants after an explosion almost killed you. This happens in a world in which these implants are controversial. Clearly, this means you must now be a crazy-shooting action hero.

The Eidos Montreal team is implementing what they’re calling “multi-path multi-solution gameplay,” which is essentially just letting players accomplish tasks through different means. Want to be stealthy and sneak up to people Metal Gear Solid-style? You can do that. Rather gun down everyone and just hope you make it through alive? That’s also possible. You can also go non-lethal on any mission, though it’s generally harder. The restriction, though, is that you generally choose your strategy beforehand, and it isn’t really an on-the-fly choice.

Along the way, you’ll be able to allocate points to different augmentations, letting you run faster, jump higher, cloak yourself and generally be a more capable person. If you’re the type of person who likes to re-spec your character in the middle of a playthrough, you’re out of luck: that’s not an option here. Human Revolution promises a 30-hour main campaign, as well as extra side missions. If that’s true, that’s quite a bit for a game that’s more action-shooter than traditional RPG.